Who's money is it anyway? - RANT

This seems like the redux version of this movie. Very cool and very informative. Talk about generational sin! This is like me and my parents times trillions of dollars.

It made me think of some stuff about money that kind of really annoy me about people. This is why people should be paying taxes if you owe them. Give to Caeser what is Caeser's. For me, you don't have a right to complain about the government if 1) you don't vote 2) you don't pay taxes when you should. But forget about the practicality of paying taxes to a free government - it ain't your money anyway!

I think it's great when people are so generous to charity and ministry which is something, believe it or not, Americans do relatively well. But there seems to be a lot of Americans who wish they didn't have to pay taxes at all and get defensive about the government getting their money....but that's the thing, it's not our money, it's God's. So if it's not yours, then what's the difference between the duty of tithing and the obligation to "Caeser", both of which are commanded? My theory is it's easy to give to charity because it feels good, it's an obvious "good work" that maybe not everyone sees, but somebody sure does, even if it's just the person working at the church counting up the offering basket. But taxes don't feel good at all, they just feel like their taking money away with no "good works" points in return.

I think it's obvious that that's not the reason why we should be giving our money to anything. Life should be an outpouring of gratefulness and praise to God. Last time I checked money is definitely a part of life, especially living in the richest country in the world!! So giving my money to the Navigators is not how I gauge my love of money, it's more than that. Do I spend my money generously on other people? Do I pay my taxes without a grudge? Do I save so as not to be a burden on others? And really the question is: Who's money is this and am I using it in a way that is glorifying to Him? It's not about behavior modification, it's about what you believe about your money.

Of course, of course I'm not perfect at all in this. But I thought I'd get that off my chest, because now that it's tax season, I'm reading a lot about this stuff, and the fact that not paying taxes now is just going to lead to higher taxes later is rational, yet we are so not rational.

Brief thought

Donald Miller on his support for Obama.

Eloquently put, but I'm not gonna lie, I don't think Donald Miller is as awesome as most young Christians do. (My brother met him once btw.) I digress. I think the greatest challenge with voting for Obama was his stance on abortion. So I do like how Miller points out how the conservative right seems to focus in on the morality, never accounting for the economic problems that lead to unwanted pregnancies. Much like my previous post about Dr. Peter Heslam, societal problems need to be looked at in a bigger way than just what's right and what's wrong, because frankly we're all devastatingly wrong. We all share the blame for a broken world where some people become marginalized, economically and spiritually poor. It seems to me that Jesus walked the earth healing people in this way.

On the other hand, (and this is completely anecdotal and not based on anything scientific) it seems that most people who are making their voice heard in the pro-choice movement are not the young teenage girls coming from impoverish areas. Honestly, I think of SATC and how Carrie Bradshaw and her friends just feels free to have an abortion (in her normal pathetic remorseful way, but you know). Like it's just made up of young single women who just don't want the consequences of their "accidental" sex.

So, I'm not really sure what to think about the issue in terms of policy. Except that it's probably more complicated than most people think, and there is hypocrisy on both sides of the equation. I've never really been forced to truly take a stance since it's not the issue that is most dear to my heart. I am a business person after all, and the power of business in changing lives (as can be keenly felt today, though it is always happening) has more meaning to me than what the government says people can or cannot do.

Woohoo I voted!

So this was my first time voting in a presidential race...ever. I'm pretty stoked. I had to wait half an hour at the polls (which really isn't too bad comparatively, my boss waited an hour). Since I moved I got put in the 19th district, but I saw my old 18th district had no line whatsoever at the polling place, and I stared at the table in envy. Why did I have to be so accurate with my address to the government? I just moved 10 blocks!

As some of you may know, my parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles were heavily involved with NAMFREL an "election watchdog" of the Philippines as they tried to vote the dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, out of office (eventually failing to, and so goes the EDSA Revolution that they also participated in when I was a wee baby). My mom would tell me of the corruption she witnessed as people outright just replaced the ballot boxes. I think of that, and I just start feeling so grateful that I can even vote in a transparent system. That if I report something, I know I won't be arrested. Despite all the hullabaloo about voter registration wrong doing recently in the U.S., really it does not compare.

This also reminds me of when my mom was becoming a citizen (last year) and she found out about the Electoral College. She was so mad, I can't even explain it fully. She couldn't understand why every vote can't just count the way it does in the Philippines. Well, I said, I guess you can blame it on elitism.

As you can guess, all this family/national history informs a lot of my political thinking and makes voting and my rights have a certain flavor to it, since not just my ancestors but my immediate family has sacrificed for me to have these rights both here and in my nation of origin (if you ever meet my parents, ask about the time they ran away from tanks throwing tear gas at people, it's actually funny; they're jolly people in general, so they make light of most experiences they had at that time). I grew up with the romanticized idea that people power can legitimately change the world.

So don't be an ingrate and go VOTE! And I agree with Ian, you don't get to complain if you don't vote.

B-t-duhbs (dabbling with the politics)

Frontline's special on both John McCain and Barack Obama is pretty awesome. I read and hear a lot of leaning-left media (you know, to counter the WSJ and my own conservative tendencies), and it really does seem unfair to me how they characterize McCain. He may be totally incompetent with how he controls his party and his campaign and real terrible at public speaking, but he essentially is who he says he is. He is definitely not George Bush nor a real party faithful. Also, the dirty tactics by Republicans on mischaracterizing Obama and totally messing with the message of Obama's policies, not to mention ignoring the racism that goes on is totally disgusting. I think I'm with Colin Powell on this one. Both men are pretty great and able to lead. That's what makes this election so great, we finally have two completely different men, who are both, at the heart of it, great men. I'm so glad that this is the first presidential election I get to vote in!! I just like how positive Frontline is about each man and his strengths. I love PBS.

Major Fail by the House

So the House just said no to the bailout bill. And then the market goes down, with undiscerning force, with no view as to what can turn it around. It just looks so much like the apocalypse, I'm really wishing it's the real thing. Btw, how idiotic can the government be? Do they not understand how dynamic our economy is? Must they drag their feet like they have done for so many other problems. See, even rich people can be ignored by the government. It's times like these that I'm glad I'm too poor to have any money in the market and that I'm young enough to take advantage of the risk.

Here's Tom Friedman.

That's all. I don't feel like talking about it anymore.